The contractor will mobilise this summer before starting demolition works later this year on what remains one of the UK’s largest industrial clearance projects.

Over the next four years Erith will strip out and demolish all former structures, remove waste materials and leave the 700-acre site ready for redevelopment.

The main power station and turbine hall buildings are not expected to be demolished before mid-2028, while the cooling towers are currently scheduled to remain standing until at least 2029. The chimney stack will follow later in the sequence.

The carefully phased programme reflects the scale of the site and the need to coordinate works alongside National Rail, National Highways and East Midlands Airport.

Andy Dyson, Operations Director, Erith said: “Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is a significant site, both in terms of its scale and its role in the UK’s energy history. The transition following the end of coal-fired generation marks an important stage in how legacy infrastructure is managed and sites are repurposed.”

The demolition clears the way for redevelopment of one of the Midlands’ most strategically located brownfield sites.

The former coal-fired power station already benefits from a Local Development Order permitting low-carbon energy projects, battery manufacturing, energy storage facilities and data centre development. Part of the site also sits within the East Midlands Freeport.

Ratcliffe is a cornerstone site within the Trent Arc growth corridor between Derby and Nottingham, where regional leaders believe future investment could support more than 40,000 jobs and add £2.4bn a year to the economy.